Canyon Rose rocks live

It seems like destiny that Canyon Rose Outfit has the sweet honour of being the first rock band to perform at the brand new Morinville Cultural Centre.

This coming Saturday, the band is recording a live 12-song album, one of two that are in the works. And they’re hoping to fill the 500-seat theatre with the rock-out energy of a packed house.

The recording comes on the heels of their debut CD Grizzly House, an aggressive alternative 12-track dripping with grit and soul.

For the past few months, the band has been in a writing frenzy and its members want to record as quickly as possible. “When we wrote the songs it sometimes took a couple of years to record them. In listening back to the recordings, they lost a certain feel they had. With this, we thought we’d capture the moment,” explains vocalist Christian Maslyk.

And the new songs are worth a listen. “Our writing has matured a lot in the lyrics, the song structure and the arrangements. We place more importance on a cool groove than a wild riff. And that has helped our sound a ton.”

Joining Maslyk is Justin Perkins (guitar), Matt Harrison (bass) and Jesse Gauthier (drums). The band is also adding new textures to their sound with St. Albert organist Matt Kraus, Legal trumpeter Alex Pelletier and Edmonton percussion/piano player Erik Bernard.

One of Maslyk’s tunes that underwent a miracle transformation with the addition of new instruments is Stormy Night, a tune documenting the hardships a sailor faces.

“It was written as an acoustic song. But when we added the trumpet it changed everything. The sound came out as gritty, southern rock and roll. It had more raw power, but more polished and we play it old-style balls-to-the-wall rock and roll.”

Sporting a developing confidence, Perkins has taken over more of the songwriting and penned a standout showpiece titled Face In a Shattered Mirror. “The lyrics are cool and the verses go together so beautifully. It has a haunting, spooky feel. There aren’t a lot of big guitar attacks. This one has a lot of laid-back belts.”

Canyon Rose has spread their gospel at many venues in the area including LB’s Pub and the now defunct Taphouse. But an appearance at Coaches Corner Sports Bar solidified their popularity. They booked a gig where a crowd of 400 people arrived. The bar capacity was 150.

“Before we could play the first note, the RCMP arrived and we had to wait 30 minutes before 20 per cent of the people left and then we could play. It was an amazing night.”

Opening for the live album recording is Senorita Justice, a five-piece Sturgeon County band that made its entry into the musical world after winning a battle of the bands competition. They have since performed at The Nest, the Hydeway, and Boonstock.